Mold for forming building-blocks.



PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. J. A. JOHNSON.

MOLD FOR FORMING BUILDING BLOCKS. APPLICATION FILED MAE.16.1905.

2 SHEETB-SHBET 2.

Hull

Jon/v AJOHNSON, m ii/W PATENT OFFTQE.

JOHN A. JOHNSON, ()F \VI NA.\IA(I, INDIANA.

MOLD FOR FORMING BUILDING-BLOCKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1905,

Application tiled March 16, 1905. Serial No. 250,456.

To a. Hill/071i it may con/c077,.-

lie it known that I, JOHN A. Jon xsoy, a citizen of the United States,residing at \Vinamac, in the county of Pulaski and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Molds for FormingBuilding-Blocks. of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in molds for forming concretebricks, buildingblocks, and the like; and the object of the invention isto provide means whereby the sides and ends of the molds can besimultaneously removed in directions at right angles to the linishedfaces of the product in order thereby to prevent damage to the green andunset cement.

The further object is to provide means for bringing the several parts ofthe mold together into proper operative position previous to the moldingoperation and for securely locking them in position during the moldingoperation; and the further object, after the sides and ends have beenremoved from the product, is to provide means for a complete and readyremoval of said sides and ends of the mold, thereby leaving the producton the pallet in position to be removed with the pallet without dangerof injury from any of the parts of the said mold.

The object of the invention also is to provide a mold which can beoperated rapidly by workmen of little or no experience and which will becheap to construct and inexpensive to maintain.

I accomplish the objects of the invention by the mechanism illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view ofan empty mold embodying all the features of my invention, the mold beingin closed position ready to receive the concrete. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of same with parts broken away to show the interiorconstruction. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 3 3of Fig. I. Fig. at is an end view of mold shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is aview of the same end with the hinged members of the outside frame inopen position and showing the mold proper in elevated position above thetop of the article just molded. Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line6 6 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 is a top plan view of a modified mold in Whicha single large block instead of a plurality of bricks will be made.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews of the drawings.

8 S are parallel members which are united by the transverse pieces 9,located below the members 8, which pieces with said members form thebase or body of my device. Located between the members 8 and restingupon and supported by the parts 9 is the wooden pallet upon which theconcrete article will be formed. By the removal of the pallet from themold the concrete product will also be removed. The pallet comprises arectangular frame, the sides of which make a close lit between themembers 8 of the body of the device and the ends 10, which strengthenand unite the sides and serve also as handles for the removal of thepallet. The side members of the pallet form the supports for the boards11. Each one of these boards 11 forms a mold-base, and each mold-baseoverlies one of the pieces 9 above mentioned. The boards 11 areseparated from each other by an open space for the passage of suchconcrete material as may overflow from the molds during the moldingoperation. Projecting inwardly from the members 8 are the blocks 13 withoblique faces, as shown in Fig. 3, for the purpose of guiding the palletinto operative position. This is important for the reason that in rapidwork there not time in which to carefully adjust the pallet, which ischanged between each molding operation.

1% is a two-part frame, the purpose of which is to locate and securelyhold the sides and ends of the mold in proper operative position. Thisframe is divided at its end at 15, and the two parts thus produced aresecured,by means of the hinges 16, to their respective opposite members8 of the base in the manner as clearly shown in the drawings, and thetwo parts, as shown in Fig. 5, are capable of being opened out tofacilitate the removal of the sides and ends of the mold and afterwardof the pallet and product on said pallet. A lever 17 (see Fig. &) ispivotally secured to one member of said two-part frame. This lever has aslot which is eccentric to the pivot, and the slot is made to engage apin 18 on the opposite member, whereby by lowering the lever the twoparts of the frame will be drawn together and locked. The frame ll willhave the feet 19, which will overlap the frame of the pallet and pressthe latter down into level position. This is important for the reasonthat as the pallet is made out of wood it is apt to warp and be unevenunless positively held. The same ends of all of the molds are joinedtogether into the continuous bars 20, which extend from end to end ofsaid frame 14.

Figs. 1 to 6 of the drawings represent adevice having compartments formolding four bricks at a time, and it is obvious that a greater or aless number'can be used without departing from the spirit of thisinvention. 22 represent the sides of these four molds. Each of thesesides will consist of a separate plate, the ends of which are centrallynotched for the passage therethrough of the bars 20, and the bars 20 toavoid conflict with the remaining parts of sides 22 will be reduced inthickness so as to enter the notches in the ends of said sides. hen thesides 22 are pressed into close contact with the shoulders formed on thebars 20 and the bars 20 are resting against the bottoms of the notchesin the sides 22, the mold is in its closed position ready to be filledwith the concrete or other plastic material. WVhen in this closed oroperative position, the sides 22 of the adjacent molds are separatedfrom each other by an open space 'which serves the double purpose,first, of allowing the sides to move laterally in the expanding oropening of the mold, and, second, allows any overflow of the concrete todrop through out of the way. In order to keep this concrete overflowfrom lodging between the sides 22, the outside walls of the latter willbe made oblique to provide a space between the adjacent walls that willincrease downwardly, as shown in Fig.

The narrow strips or tongues formed by the notches in sides 22 will havewedges 24 for the purpose of spreading said sides 22 when the bars 20are spread or moved in opposition to each other. For the purpose ofspreading the bars 20, I provide the vertical shaft 26 at each end ofthe mold series, which shafts have opposite lateral ears or crankextensions 27, (see Fig. 5,) and these ears are connected, by means ofthe link-bars 28, with said bars 20, whereby by the rocking of shaft 26the link-bars 28 will be brought into line, thereby spreading the bars20, or by a reverse movementdrawing the bars 20 together. It will thusbe seen that when the sides and ends of the molds are in their normal oroperative closed positions they can be separated simultaneously in allfour directions by a proper movement of the shaft 26. The lower end ofthe shaft 26 is loosely seated in a socket supported by a bracketextension from the pieces 9 of the base. In order to cause the parts ofthe mold to assume their closed or contracted relations automatically, Iconnect the opposite ends of the two side pieces of each mold by meansof the spiral springs, 30, the normal action of which is to draw theparts connected by them toward each other, and under their action thewedges on the sides 22 will cause the bars 20 to move inwardly of themold. A more positive assembling of said sides and ends and a securelocking of them in their assembled positions will be secured by means ofthe extensions 32 from the frame 14. The inner edges of these extensionsare made wedge shape, and they are so placed as to enter the spacesbetween the sides of each adjacent pair of molds, so that when the moldshave been set and the framesection 14 is closed around them the wedges32, carried by said frame, will crowd the sides 22 firmly into theirclosed positions. To facilitate the entrance of the wedges, thecontacting ends of sides 22 will be beveled, as shown at 34. In order toreduce the friction between the wedges 24 and the shoulders of the bars20, I will provide the rollers 36.

Mounted on the base-pieces 8 inside the frame 14: at the corners of thelatter are the posts 38, and the pair of posts at each end of frame 14are connected by the bar 40, upon which the reduced ends of the bars 20will rest when the molds are assembled in position to be filled. Theseends of the bars 20 have outside notches 42. After the molds are filledand before the frame 14 is opened. the bars 20 are spread by rocking theshaft 26 in the manner as prev1-" ousl y described, which forces thebars apart and into contact with post 38, with the posts entering thenotches 42 of bars 20. Then the frame is unlocked and thrown open on itshinges and the sides and ends of the mold which have been spread apartso as to clear the newlyformed concrete are drawn upward by the workmenin charge, and contact with the product is prevented by the posts 38,which act as guides in the elevation of said open sides and ends. Whenthe height of the newly-formed blocks has been reached, the sides andends will be lifted off as a whole, thus leaving the pallet unobstructedfor free removal with the newly-molded blocks. An unfilled pallet willbe introduced into the device, and thereupon the sides and ends justremoved will be returned and the frame 14 closed and looked around theparts in the manner as shown and heretofore described. The properlocating of the sides 22 will be assisted by means of the longitudinalcleats 48, (see Figs. 5 and 6,) which are attached to the members 8 ofthe base and project up to form stops or guides for sides 22.

Vhere it is desired to mold larger blocks than those of brick size, aconstruction similar to that shown in Fig. 7, which is a modi ficationof my device, will be employed. 7 The spaces between the bar 20 andframe 1e are covered with sheet metal 50 for the purpose of keeping theconcrete from dropping therein. In the operation of molding the severalmolds are first filled with the concrete material and tamped and thenrefilled and tamped, and this operation is repeated until the molding iscomplete. In filling the molds it is the practice to fill them heapingfull and scrape lIO off the surplus by passing a V-shaped scraper alongthe sheet-metal coverings over the ends of the molds above referred to.

l'laving thus fully described my invention, what .1 claim as new, andwish to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. in a device for forming lmilding-lfloelts, a frame in a plurality ofseparable parts, means for securely uniting said parts, a pallet, moldshaving sides and ends resting upon said pallet, said sides and endsbeing laterally movable, means for simultaneously separating theopposite members of said sides and ends and springs for returning themto a normal closed position.

2. In a mold for forming l.)uildingblocl s, a removable pallet, moldends and mold sides mounted loosely on said pallet, two of the oppositeof said side or end members having shoulders or projections and theremaining two of said members having oblique surfaces to contact withthe shoulders or projections on the two first members, means foroppositely moving and thereby separating the two lirst members wherebythe other two members will be simultaneously and oppositely separatedand spiral springs connecting one of said members with its oppositecooperating member.

3. ln a mold for forming building-blocks, a removable pallet, mold endsand mold sides mounted loosely on said pallet, two of the opposite ofsaid side or end members having shoulders or projections and theremaining two of said members having oppositely-sloped oblique surfacesto contact with the shoulders or projections on the two first members,and means for oppositely moving and thereby separating the two firstmembers whereby the other two members will be simultaneously andoppositely separated, and elastic ties to normally move the members withthe oblique faces toward each other.

at. In a device for forming concrete blocks, a base comprising sidepieces and transverse eonnectingpieces extending under said sidepieces,a pallet removably located on said crosspieces between the sidepieces, a two-part frame having the parts hinged to the opposing membersof said base, means for fastening the two parts of the frame together,molds having movable ends and sides, said ends and sides being locatedwithin said frame, the sides having oblique surfaces next to the mold ofwhich it is a part, and the ends having shoulders to contact with theoblique surfaces of the sides and separate said sides by an outwardmovement of the end pieces, and automatic means for restoring the sidesand ends to their molding positions when the separating strain isremoved.

in a device for forming building-blocks, a base, a pallet removablyplaced thereon, a frame in two parts each of which is hinged to saidbase, mold sides and ends in oppositelyseparable parts, means forsimultaneously sep arating said parts and wedges carried by theframe-sections for locking the closed members of the molds.

('3. In a device for making building-bloclts, a base comprising sidemembers which are united by underlying cross-pieces, the side membershaving inward projections adjacent to their'ends with oblique innerfaces, a pallet litting between the side members and directed intoposition by the oblique surfaces of said projections from the base,adjustable mold ends and sides resting upon said pallet, and means forspreading the last-named parts for the removal of the product of themold.

T. In a device for forming bi'iilding-blocks, a base, a pallet mountedthereon, a two-part frame having said parts hinged to the base, moldends and sides having cut-away portions to permit said parts to crosseach other, means for simultaneously spreading the sides and ends andfor uniting said sides and ends so they may be removed as a whole, postsmounted on the base and extending above the tops of the molded producton the pallet, the end bars of said molds having notched extensions tocontact with said posts when the molds are spread, whereby said postswill serve as guides to prevent injury to the product by said sides andends during the removal of the latter.

8. A base comprising side members connectcd by underlying cross-pieccs,said side members having inward extensions with oblique faces, a pallet'ated between said side members on the cross-pieces and directed by saidextensions, a frame in two parts said parts being hinged to oppositeside members of the base, means for fastening the two members together,a pair of bars parallel with each other extending from end to end withinthe frame and forming the ends of a plurality of molds, sides for saidmolds located within the frame and extending from side to side thereof,said sides having middle end notches to receive portions of the end barswhich are reduced in width to enter said end notches, the projections ofsaid sides having inner wedges to spread the sides by an outwardmovement of the end bars, springs to draw the sides of each moldtogether, wedges carried by the frame-sections to enter between thesides of adjacent molds and close the molds, means to spread the endbars and posts to limit the spread of said bars and serve as guides tocontrol the withdrawal of the end bars and mold sides on the removal ofthe latter, said posts extending above the molded product to preventinjury thereto.

9. In a mold for forming building-blocks, a base, a pallet located uponthe base, a frame surrounding the pallet, mold sides extending from oneside of the frame to the other within the frame, bars forming mold endsand extending from one end of the mold to the other within the frameremote from the ends of the mold sides, and sheet-metal plates coveringthe spaces between the end bars of the mold and the sides of the frame.

10. In a device for making concrete blocks, a base, a pallet removablysupported thereon, said pallet having a plurality of transverseopenings, a plurality of molds located on said pallet, said molds beingseparated by spaces which register with the transverse openings in thepallet, laterally-adjustable sides and ends for said molds, the outersurfaces of said sides being oblique to form spaces between said moldswhich increase in width downwardly.

11. In a mold for forming concrete blocks, a base, a removable palletlocated thereon, a two-part frame having said parts hinged to oppositesides of the said base, means for drawing the parts of the frametogether and fastening them, a pair of transverse bars located withinthe frame and extending from end to end thereof and forming the ends ofa plurality of molds, mold sides located within the frame transverslyand extending from side to side of the frame, said sides having middlenotches to receive reduced portions of the end bars and providingextensions of said sides beyond the bars, wedge faces on said extensionsto contact with the shoulders on the bars formed by said reductions inwidth of the latter, friction-rollers mounted in said shoulders tocontact with the Wedges, springs to draw the two sides of each moldtogether, a rock-shaft having lateral ears, link-bars connecting saidears with said bars forming the ends .of'the molds whereby the rockingof the rock-shaft will spread the end bars and open the mold.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at.Indianapolis, Indiana, this 28th day of February, A. D. 1905.

JOHN A. JOHNSON.

